10 Things I’ve Done To Make Extra Money

Just a little over one year ago, my life revolved around making extra money so that I could pay down my student loans quickly and so that I could stop living paycheck to paycheck.

Eventually, I paid off my student loans which allowed me to have more financial freedom. I eventually left my day job and transformed my side hustles into my full-time career.

Without my side hustle income, I really don't know what life would be like. Side income allowed me to drastically change and improve my life more quickly than if I only had income from one source.

I've done a lot over the years to make extra income, and it helped me improve my life as I described above. Besides doing things that aren't really jobs, such as using Ebates for cash back to using credit card rewards to earn free vacations, there are tons of other things I have done in order to make extra money.

Due to this, I thought it would be fun to talk about the different ways I've side hustled in the past. Below are some of the ways I make extra money or how I made extra money in the past:

1. I used to blog for side income, and now it's a part of my business.

Of course, I saved the best for first. Blogging for income is definitely not a get rich quick scheme, but if you try hard enough, it is possible to make extra money from blogging.

It took me around 6 months to make my first $100 from my blog, and everything grew from there. I'm now making around $25,000 a month from my online business. Blogging is a lot of fun, so it's nice to be able to make an income from this blog.

2. I used to staff write for side income, and now it's a part of my business.

Freelance writing is something I still do and it's what launched me into the whole side hustle world. I started freelance writing after someone read my blog and asked me to write for their website. I thought the whole idea was crazy, but I accepted the offer and everything just grew from there.

3. I mystery shopped as another side hustle idea.

I haven't done any mystery shopping in a long time, but it was fun while it lasted. It didn't bring in a ton of income, but it was a way to get free meals, free cosmetics, and more.

You can read an old post of mine about mystery shopping here. If you are looking for tips on how to make extra money in college, then this is a great idea. I did this in college and it was fun!

4. I babysat for extra income.

I haven't babysat for money in a very long time, but it was a fun side hustle when I did. I used to babysit for a child who lived in my neighborhood starting when I was 14 years old. It paid around $10 an hour, and I babysat around 40 hours or more a week during the summer (and slightly less hours during the school year).

This is another great idea to make extra money. Whether you have your own children or you are looking for more tips on how to make extra money in college, this can be a winner if you like being around children.

5. I used to take surveys as a way to make extra money.

Taking surveys was a “job” somewhat similar to mystery shopping. I would take surveys but they never really paid very much. The positives of taking surveys were usually the free items you were allowed to try out and the little bit of cash they paid as well.

Lastly, InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!

6. I sold stuff around my home as a side hustle idea.

One thing I should probably still be doing is selling stuff around my home. I used to list items on eBay all the time, and I made a decent amount of side income by doing so. The only thing I didn't like about selling stuff on eBay was the crazy amount of time it took. I know others find eBay fun, but I do not.

7. I would pet sit as one of the ways to make extra money.

I didn't pet sit for long, but I did do it on a couple of occasions. I love, love, LOVE animals, so pet sitting was always a fun little job to do. I would get paid for letting out dogs, walking them, feeding, giving them any medications, and more.

8. I rented extra rooms in my house for extra money.

We have had three renters in our home since we bought our home five years ago. Two of these renters weren't here for long, but my sister lived with us for a couple of years.

Renting a home in our house was a very easy way to make extra money since we always had the room and no work really had to be done.

9. I sold drinks at a concert to make extra money in high school.

Back in high school, I helped out a friend of mine and worked at a concert venue. They just needed someone for one day to hand out drinks to those entering the venue, and I was told I would get paid for being there, that it was a relaxed environment, and that I would be able to enjoy the concert after just working there for a few hours. That meant I was still able to enjoy the main band completely, and I got paid. I was also able to hang out with my friends so it was an easy one day job!

It wasn't a ton of money, but it was a fun way to get free entry to a concert. You can usually do this with festivals and other events as well and it's one of the fun ways to make extra money in high school (or college, or whenever!).

10. I entered giveaways as a way to make extra money.

I don't enter many giveaways anymore, but it's something I would like to get back into. I used to win money, gift cards, products, and more when I would enter giveaways as a way to make extra money. It wasn't hard either, and it was a ton of fun to win stuff.

I would usually keep everything I would win, but I know others who sell their winnings on eBay or Craigslist if they don't have any use for it.

What ways have to tried to make money? What would you not do? What are you making extra money for?

If you are new to my blog, I am all about finding ways to make and save more money. Here are some of my favorite sites and products that may help you out:

Cut your TV bill. Cut your cable, satellite, etc. Even go as far to go without Netflix or Hulu as well. Buy a digital antenna (this is the one we have) and enjoy free TV for life.

Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first two weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!

I highly recommend Credible for student loan refinancing. You can lower the interest rate on your student loans significantly by using Credible which may help you shave thousands off your student loan bill over time.

Invest. There are no guarantees when it comes to investing, but you should always start sooner rather than later. If you are looking for a good investing platform, I recommend Motif. Motif Investing allows individuals to invest affordably. This approachable investing platform makes it easy to buy a portfolio of up to 30 stocks, bonds or ETFs for just $9.95 total commission.

Find a part-time job. There are many part-time jobs that you may be able to find. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I’ve found a legitimate job through there before), Monster, and so on.

If you are still in college, I recommend you check out Campus Book Rentals. This website allows you to get your textbooks for cheap. I almost ALWAYS rented my textbooks and it saved me a ton of money!

Lower your cell phone bill. Instead of paying the $150 or more that you spend on your cell phone bill, there are companies out there like Republic Wireless that offer cell phone service starting at $10. YES, I SAID $15! If you use my Republic Wireless affiliate link, you can change your life and start saving thousands of dollars a year on your cell phone service. I created a full review on Republic Wireless as well if you are interested in hearing more. I’ve been using them for over a year and they are great.

Comments

I’ve tried surveys, but I’m not in a desirable demographic for most of them–too old, I guess. I did mystery shopping but didn’t like it–too many hoops to jump through, too much time invested for the low pay, freebies I don’t need, and a scummy feeling of misleading the sales person. I don’t like rewards credit cards because you have to spend money to get the relatively paltry rewards. I write for a living for clients who pay really well, so I’m not interested in side writing jobs for ridiculously low pay (I mean $5 for a blog post, seriously?). But I am thinking of joining a mock jury site because that would be enlightening and interesting. What I do for extra money is tutor. I specialize in helping professionals improve their writing for their career advancement and also helping people write more effective college application essays. In five months, I made about $900.

Who do I contact to work as an extra in South Louisiana. I use to do this for fun and money in the LA area. Have moved, but would like to work again. I know they film a lot in this area. Thank you, Charlotte

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Hello and welcome!My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.